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To the Editor:
As the state legislature
winds down its work, I've been reviewing
some of the votes by 40th district Rep.
Marilyn Avila, who has represented me in
the state House of Representatives since
January. Rep. Avila has been voting
against common-sense legislation and far
outside the mainstream of the
House. Three examples:
On May 1, Avila voted
against House bill 1287, which passed
the House with bipartisan support, and
would let sheriffs know when a person’s
pistol permit application had been
turned down in another county.
Conservative Joe
Kiser, a former sheriff, was strongly in
favor of it because the legislation
would prevent sheriffs from approving
permits for people who shouldn't have
them because of mental problems,
domestic violence, etc. Avila’s
reasoning
for voting against it? Because the
proposal “won't stop those who shouldn't
have pistols from crossing state lines
to get them. ‘I will vote for a bill
that will protect everybody and not just
the 100 counties of North
Carolina,’ she said.” Doesn’t Avila
understand that the N.C. House can only
affect the 100 counties of North
Carolina?
On May 3, Avila voted
against House bill 751, which simply
recognized a sad historical fact: that
in 1898 a racially-motivated mob used
intimidation and force to overthrow the
duly elected local government in
Wilmington. Why Avila would choose not
to officially recognize the truth of
this situation is beyond me. Doesn’t
she want to promote understanding of a
dark chapter in our state’s history?
On May 22, Avila voted
against Senate bill 260. This
legislation, which passed the House with
bipartisan support, would require school
boards to “ensure that schools provide
parents and guardians with information
about
cervical cancer,…human papillomavirus,
and the vaccines available to prevent
these diseases.” That’s it: no
requirement that students be vaccinated,
just a requirement that parents be given
information so that they can make
informed decisions about the health of
their children. Why is Avila against
information and parental responsibility?
The voters of District 40
need to understand how they are being
represented.
Alison Beal
Wake Forest |
